Man Portable Air Defence System (MANPADS)

In News 

• Recently, the United States approved a $200-million arms package for Ukraine, which would include US-made Stinger Missiles, which are a type of shoulder-fired Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems (MANPADS). 

What are MANPADS?

• Man-Portable Air-Defence Systems are short-range, lightweight and portable surface-to-air missiles that can be fired by individuals or small groups to destroy aircraft or helicopters. 
• They help shield troops from aerial attacks and are most effective in targeting low-flying aircrafts. 
  • MANPATs or Man-Portable Anti-Tank Systems work in a similar manner but are used to destroy or incapacitate military tanks.

• MANPADS can be shoulder-fired, launched from atop a ground-vehicle, fired from a tripod or stand, and from a helicopter or boat. 
• Features 
  • Weighing anywhere between 10 to 20 kilograms and not being longer than 1.8 metres.
    • They are fairly lightweight as compared to other elaborate weapon systems, making them easy to operate by individual soldiers. 
    • Operating MANPADS requires substantially less training.
  • MANPADS have a maximum range of 8 kilometres and can engage targets at altitudes of 4.5 km.
  • Most MANPADS have passive or ‘fire and forget’ guidance systems, meaning the operator is not required to guide the missile to its target, enabling them to run and relocate immediately after firing. 
  • The missile stays locked-on to the targeted object, not requiring active guidance from the soldier. 
    • The missiles are fitted with Infrared (IR) seekers that identify and target the airborne vehicle through heat radiation being emitted by the latter.

Earlier instances of usage 

• The first MANPADS were introduced by the United States and Soviet Union in the 1960s.
  •  Russian and U.S. MANPADS were also used during the Vietnam war.
• Countries such as India, Pakistan, Germany, U.K,Turkey and Israel have also used MANPADS in their defence efforts. 
  • As of 2019, 20 countries had developed the wherewithal to manufacture MANPADS and together made 1 million such systems for defence and export purposes.  

 Common variants of MANPADs

• The most common make of MANPADs is the U.S.-made Stinger missiles. 
  • These weigh about 15 kg, have a range of 4,800 metres or 4.8 km, and can engage low-flying aircrafts at an altitude of 3,800 metres. 
  • They have a passive guidance system, which uses infrared technology. 
  • Stringers have been sent or are currently being sent to Ukraine by the US, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark. 
• Stinger’s Russian or Soviet-made counterparts are the Igla MANPADS, which also employ Infrared technology. 
  • They were used in Iraq when it was invaded by the U.S. in 2003.
  •  They have also been used by India, for instance,  as part of the Operation Trishul Shakti of 1992, during the Siachen conflict. 
• Starstreak, the British army’s equivalent of the Stinger missiles, have also been used in the past.
  •  Starstreak MANPADs have an active guidance system which uses a laser beam and needs the operator till the missile hits, but they offer a longer range (7 km) as compared to Stingers and are high-velocity systems. 
• Sweden makes the RBS-70 MANPADS series, which also uses laser beam technology, while China’s version, FN-6, is akin to their Stinger.

Source:TH